Darren Case, who is from Wells, grew up in Kennebunkport and now lives in Cape Porpoise, said last Thursday that his first goal is to have Round Turn Distilling selling bottles of gin by the summer, and after that he’ll aim to open the Pepperell Mill distillery to the public for tours and tasting.

Like other mill towns dotting the landscape of New England, Biddeford’s economic fortunes tracked those of its textile industry and the mills bordering the Saco River. When textile manufacturing moved elsewhere — first south, then offshore — the city, particularly its downtown, languished.